Element desktop starts new instance instead of opening old instance

[schuelermine]

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch Element desktop
2. Close the App (make sure it’s running in the background)
3. Launch Element again

Outcome

What did you expect?

The old Element desktop instance reopens.

What happened instead?

A new Element instance opens and prompts to log in. This seems like it could corrupt state.

Operating system

NixOS 22.05.20220511.41ff747 (Quokka)

Application version

Element version: 1.10.11, Olm version: 3.2.8

How did you install the app?

using home-manager, from nixpkgs

Homeserver

matrix.org

Will you send logs?

Yes

[t3chguy]

This sounds like a packaging issue with the community-maintained nixpkg, I suggest contacting the maintainer. Flatpak had a similar issue due to sandboxing.

[schuelermine]

It doesn’t happen immediately after startup, as I’ve found out now. It sometimes happens a while later. Maybe it happens on suspend? I feel like this isn’t a packaging issue, as console element-desktop invocations detect the instance normally but also don’t for me sometimes.

[t3chguy]

Well its either a packaging issue or an electron one as this is a built-in feature of electron, https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/api/app#apprequestsingleinstancelockadditionaldata

[schuelermine]

I will test if this is triggered by suspend.
Thank you for the information!

[schuelermine]

I am now somewhat sure this is caused by suspend.

[schuelermine]

The second instance is being detected by any third instance.

Closing the first instance and re-launching via CLI launches a second instance.

[JokerGermany]

I have the same Problem with the standard repo https://packages.element.io/debian/
When the instance is already running, it tries to start a new one.
When you open element out of a matrix.to link it tries to open a new one.

It seems to have to do with the autostart.
When you close the autostarted element and start it normal the problem vanished.
Then you get this in a terminal:
/opt/Element/element-desktop %U

/home/jokergermany/.config/Element exists: yes
/home/jokergermany/.config/Riot exists: no
Other instance detected: exiting

Will post tomorrow the terminal output when the bug appers.

[JokerGermany]

/opt/Element/element-desktop --hidden

/home/jokergermany/.config/Element exists: yes
/home/jokergermany/.config/Riot exists: no
Starting auto update with base URL: https://packages.element.io/desktop/update/
Auto update not supported on this platform
Fetching translation json for locale: en_EN
Changing application language to de
Fetching translation json for locale: de
Resetting the UI components after locale change
Resetting the UI components after locale change
mesa: for the --amdgpu-atomic-optimizations option: may only occur zero or one times!
[324551:0807/192947.281627:ERROR:browser_main_loop.cc(271)] Gdk: gdk_window_thaw_toplevel_updates: assertion 'window->update_and_descendants_freeze_count > 0' failed
Changing application language to de
Fetching translation json for locale: de
Resetting the UI components after locale change
[324551:0807/192952.408606:ERROR:leveldb_factory.cc(88)] Failed to open LevelDB database from /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb,IO error: /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb/LOCK: File currently in use. (ChromeMethodBFE: 15::LockFile::2)
[324551:0807/192953.418660:ERROR:leveldb_factory.cc(88)] Failed to open LevelDB database from /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb,IO error: /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb/LOCK: File currently in use. (ChromeMethodBFE: 15::LockFile::2)
[324551:0807/192953.748112:ERROR:nss_util.cc(335)] After loading Root Certs, loaded==false: NSS error code: -8018
[324551:0807/192954.885684:ERROR:leveldb_factory.cc(88)] Failed to open LevelDB database from /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb,IO error: /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb/LOCK: File currently in use. (ChromeMethodBFE: 15::LockFile::2)
[324551:0807/192955.895411:ERROR:leveldb_factory.cc(88)] Failed to open LevelDB database from /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb,IO error: /home/jokergermany/.config/Element/IndexedDB/vector_vector_0.indexeddb.leveldb/LOCK: File currently in use. (ChromeMethodBFE: 15::LockFile::2)

The last line repeats over and over again

[JokerGermany]

@t3chguy Pls remove the X-Community-Supported-Platform

[BloodyIron]

This is the same issue I've been seeing for over a year now in element-hq/element-desktop#679

Can we get some eyes on this already??? :/

[t3chguy]

Duplicate of element-hq/element-desktop#679